NCT07037745

Dexamethasone + Intrathecal Morphine in Hip Fractures

Completed Last updated 25 June 2025

What this trial tests

trial in Hip Fracture Surgeries in 80 participants. Completed in 15 June 2025.

Timeline

1 October 2024

Primary endpoint
15 June 2025

15 June 2025

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital
Status	Completed
Study type	OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment	80
Start date	1 October 2024
Primary completion	15 June 2025
Estimated completion	15 June 2025
Sites	1 location across Turkey (Türkiye)

Conditions studied

• Hip Fracture Surgeries — all drugs for Hip Fracture Surgeries →

Sponsor

Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital

Who can join

65 and older, any sex, with Hip Fracture Surgeries. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Hip fractures (proximal femur fractures) are a global public health problem with high morbidity and mortality rates, especially in the geriatric population aged 65 years and older. Hip fractures, an important consequence of osteoporosis, occur as a result of low-energy trauma with advancing age. Increased mortality rates are associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications, the need for an intensive care unit, prolonged hospital stay, and decreased quality of life.

Multimodal analgesia strategies in geriatric hip fracture patients aim to provide adequate pain control while limiting systemic opioid use. Spinal anesthesia, one of the neuraxial anesthesia methods, is frequently used in this patient group, as it avoids complications associated with general anesthesia. It has been reported that the addition of intrathecal morphine (ITM) to local anesthetics used in minimal-dose spinal anesthesia is practical in postoperative pain control. It has been reported that the use of ITM in the dose range of 0.1-0.2 mg in major orthopedic surgeries such as total hip arthroplasty significantly reduces systemic opioid use and provides a decrease in early pain scores. Nausea, vomiting, and decreased gastrointestinal function in the postoperative period may impair patient comfort. In addition, depending on the dose used, ITM may cause side effects such as postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and pruritus. It has been reported that perioperative use of intravenous dexamethasone reduces postoperative pain scores and the consumed analgesic dose in patients undergoing spinal anesthesia using ITM, as well as reducing PONV. Although the benefit of opioid-sparing analgesia provided by ITM in geriatric hip fracture patients is important, the role of intravenous dexamethasone in effectively controlling side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and pruritus, which may increase with it, is a current and critical area of research.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of intravenous (8 mg) dexamethasone added to intrathecal morphine (0.1 mg) on postoperative pain scores, opioid consumption, PONV, and pruritus in geriatric hip fracture patients.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Effect of Intravenous Dexamethasone Added to Intrathecal Morphine on Postoperative Analgesia and Nausea/Vomiting in Geriatric Hip Fractures: A Retrospective Clinical Trial
   ARSLAN K, SAHIN AS. · · 2025 · DOI 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7256255/v1